Previously an export coordinator, Geno Bonnalie has only ever caddied for Joel Dahmen, starting the role in 2015 after the golfer earned Korn Ferry Tour status. However, the pair have known each other for nearly 20 years, winning a two-man best-ball tournament in their teens in Idaho where they lived.
After Dahmen won the money list on the Mackenzie Tour, Bonnalie emailed a heartfelt application to Dahmen for the role of caddie, despite earning more in his desk job.
Bonnalie helped Dahmen work his way onto the PGA Tour for the 2016-17 season, and the partnership is now heralded as one of the funniest pairings in the game.
It took until the 2019 PGA Championship though before Dahmen first played at a Major championship, which also happened to be Bonnalie's maiden Major, both as a spectator and as a caddie.
However, he enjoyed the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, more, claiming it's his favorite Major to watch. "It's as big as the Masters to me," he said.
The pair enjoyed their first victory together at the 2021 Corales Puntacana. After tapping in from 18 inches for a one-shot victory over Sam Ryder and Rafael Campos, there was an emotional embrace between player and caddie, and the tears flowed.
Bonnalie also clearly enjoys himself off course, as witnessed through his social media activity. The caddie once created a satirical review of a motel room he stayed in for the US Open after his Airbnb cancelled, while he has also revealed details of how Dahmen pranked him by telling him to go to the airport for a tournament he didn't plan on playing in.
Bonnalie made the headlines at the 2019 Players Championship after taking on the one-chip challenge - where the participant is required to eat a chip with some extremely spicy sauce. While suffering during the challenge, he exclaimed that the pain was worse than when he broke both of his arms at the same time during his teenage years.
Bizarrely, Bonnalie holds a Guinness World Record for the most holes of golf played and most birdies recorded in a single week. He played 2,000 holes, and made 497 birdies at Lewiston Country Club in 2011 to help raise money and awareness for the Cystinosis Research Foundation.
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